Listening to his old friend, whom he hadn’t seen in years, talk about his life and current situation, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness. Both of their wives had passed away early, but the difference was that his friend had remarried, while he hadn’t.
"It’s all in the past. At our age, we should look forward! Children and grandchildren will have their own blessings; there’s no use overthinking!"
That was the only way he could offer comfort.
Lu the Sixth gave a bitter smile and waved his hand, "Let’s not talk about this anymore. Third Brother, I’m practically living like a lone old man now! To be honest, I really envy you!"
"Sigh, every family has its own troubles. I get along well with my son for now, but it’s my wife’s brother..." Jin Jiachao began sharing his own situation, and Lu the Sixth listened quietly, occasionally chiming in.
At that mont, the last few dishes were brought to the table. Jin Jiachao picked up his white wine glass and swirled the contents, "Old Sixth! Let’s have a toast! For not seeing each other for so many years, and for finally eting again after all this ti!"
Lu the Sixth also raised his glass and stood up, "Alright! I’ll drink it down! Third Brother, it’s up to you, but I can tell from your face that you’ve already been drinking tonight!"
Jin Jiachao chuckled, "I have! I had a few glasses during dinner with a younger relative. But this one, I absolutely have to drink it all. The next one, I’ll just take a sip!"
Both lifted their glasses and drank them clean in one gulp.
After sitting back down and eating a few bites, Jin Jiachao suddenly asked if his friend’s trip to Beijing had other purposes.
Lu the Sixth looked up at Jin Jiachao and said, "This ti coming to Beijing, apart from finding out about you and eting you, I do indeed have so matters to handle!"
"What is it? If you need any help, just say it!" Jin Jiachao didn’t put on any pretense, as he owed this man a great favor from their younger days.
"I want to et soone!"
"Who?"
"Leng Mochen!"
Jin Jiachao froze. It took him a mont before he finally spoke up, "Who did you just say you want to see?"
What business does he have with Leng Mochen?
"Leng Mochen! The boss of the Leng Family and Mo Si!"
This truly caught Jin Jiachao off guard, "You know him?"
"Kind of. We’ve had a brief encounter before." Lu the Sixth made no attempt to hide it. "At a friend’s daughter’s wedding, I felt an instant sense of camaraderie with him..."
Jin Jiachao imdiately understood and smiled knowingly, pointing at him, "Have you figured out our relationship and been pretending to play dumb all along?"
His son’s fiancée was Leng Ning, and Leng Mochen was her brother. This wasn’t difficult to investigate, just a matter of reaching out for information.
Lu the Sixth, being so forthright, was clearly hoping for an introduction through him.
Lu the Sixth admitted candidly, "That’s right! It wasn’t hard to find out. That’s how I managed to locate you!"
A little probe into their connection, and he uncovered their relationship, which led him to Jin Jiachao.
But this made Jin Jiachao uneasy. Facing his old friend whom he hadn’t seen in years, he couldn’t quite figure him out.
"What are you up to, old fellow? Let tell you, while our friendship runs deep, Leng Mochen is my daughter-in-law’s brother! Don’t get any bad ideas!"
Recalling his friend’s shady thods in the past, Jin Jiachao felt compelled to make this clear.
Lu the Sixth smirked mysteriously, "It’s absolutely sothing beneficial to him."
"Well, that’s fine then!" Jin Jiachao continued, "But don’t count on introducing you just yet. He’s not in the country at the mont."
He had just asked Li Si’s kid during a al; apparently, Leng Mochen was dealing with so unresolved matters and would return in a few days!
Lu the Sixth took a sip of his drink and calmly said, "I know! I can wait!"
...
He Qingchi and Qi Yayun ca at an inopportune ti. Neither Liu Yuanqing nor Peng Wanru were at the club; their secretaries said they had gone to attend an event together.
He Qingchi was sowhat excited. As long as it was done cleanly, there wouldn’t really be any issues here.
But Qi Yayun was less enthusiastic. After all, this was Liu Yuanqing’s venue.
If trouble arose, both Liu Yuanqing and Peng Wanru would surely be extrely dissatisfied.
She didn’t want to jeopardize relationships with them over He Qingchi’s matter. It was entirely unnecessary.
He Qingchi pulled Qi Yayun into a corner, looked around, and whispered, "Yayun, I know your concerns. But we’ve already found soone; backing out now would be a total waste!"
Qi Yayun suppressed her inner disdain and patiently advised, "Don’t you understand the saying ’haste makes waste,’ Qingchi? I’m doing this for your own good! Even though it was my idea, the timing and place have to be right.
This location clearly isn’t suitable! Aren’t you worried you’ll have no face left in front of Wanru later?
If anything goes wrong, you’ll be the one embarrassed in the end!"
Though unwilling, He Qingchi had to admit that Qi Yayun’s words hit on her worries.
She reluctantly nodded, "Alright then. I’ll listen to you!"
Her mindset swung back and forth—one mont wanting to pressure Jin Jiachao into compliance, the next fearing becoming a laughingstock.
"That’s more like it! Let’s leave first. Otherwise, if Peng Wanru and the others run into us, we’ll waste our breath explaining."
"Alright." He Qingchi walked ahead.
She didn’t see the trace of frustration that flashed through Qi Yayun’s lowered gaze as she followed along.
...
Jin Yichen finally arrived. When he pushed the door open, he was taken aback to see Li Si with a group of people.
"How is it?"
Li Si stood up, "No movent!"
"No movent is a good thing! Sisi, thank you! Otherwise, dealing with my stubborn old man would’ve been a nightmare!"
Jin Yichen had sped all the way over. If the old man had taken an additional step, he wouldn’t have objected.
But he absolutely couldn’t tolerate soone like He Qingchi—never mind her specifics; her poor reputation and questionable character were problematic enough!
The old man was still sticking to his outdated ideals, thinking he was immune to enemy sches.
Unaware that, sotis, the most venomous thing is a woman’s heart.
"Oh, co on, no need to thank ! It was a small effort! It’s good that nothing happened—I was afraid I was being too ddleso!"
Though relieved that nothing had happened, after waiting so long, Li Si began to feel she might’ve overreacted.
Jin Yichen smiled gently, "Don’t think that way! After all, I am your brother-in-law. We’re all family. Family should stand together and face things as one!"
Li Si, hearing this, naturally joked back, "That’s right! No matter how old you are, you still have to call sister-in-law!"
The atmosphere lightened, and the two grew more at ease. Jin Yichen then casually asked, "I heard sothing... Xiao Ning thought I didn’t know. How did Leng Mo get involved with Yin Xuan’s brother?"
Jin Yichen was truly shocked when he first heard about it.
Setting aside Leng Mo’s sudden change, what perplexed him more was that her partner was Yin Xian.
Years ago, because of Yin Xuan, his engagent to Leng Ning had almost fallen through, leaving him with complicated feelings.
Now, if they really beca family, wouldn’t Leng Ning—prone to jealousy as she was—be utterly upset?
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